Another Forgotten Child

by Cathy Glass

Overview

A new memoir from Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Cathy Glass.Eight-year-old Aimee was on the child protection register at birth. Her five older siblings were taken into care many years ago. So no one can understand why she was left at home to suffer for so long. It seems Aimee was forgotten.The social services are looking for a very experienced foster carer to look after Aimee and, when she reads the referral, Cathy understands why. Despite her reservations, Cathy agrees to Aimee on – there is something about her that reminds Cathy of Jodie (the subject of ‘Damaged’ and the most disturbed child Cathy has cared for), and reading the report instantly tugs at her heart strings.When she arrives, Aimee is angry. And she has every right to be. She has spent the first eight years of her life living with her drug-dependent mother in a flat that the social worker described as ‘not fit for human habitation’. Aimee is so grateful as she snuggles into her bed at Cathy’s house on the first night that it brings Cathy to tears.Aimee’s aggressive mother is constantly causing trouble at contact, and makes sweeping allegations against Cathy and her family in front of her daughter as well. It is a trying time for Cathy, and it makes it difficult for Aimee to settle. But as Aimee begins to trust Cathy, she starts to open up. And the more Cathy learns about Aimee’s life before she came into care, the more horrified she becomes.It’s clear that Aimee should have been rescued much sooner and as her journey seems to be coming to a happy end, Cathy can’t help but reflect on all the other ‘forgotten children’ that are still suffering…

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780007486779
Publisher:	HarperCollins UK
Publication date:	02/05/2013
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.26(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.98(d)

About the Author

Cathy has been a foster carer for over 20 years, during which time she has looked after more than 75 children, of all ages and backgrounds. Cathy runs training courses on fostering for her local Social Services, and helps draft new fostering procedures and guidelines. She has three teenage children of her own; one of whom was adopted after a long-term foster placement. The name Cathy Glass is a pseudonym.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

REVIEWS FOR DAMAGED:'Cannot fail to move those who read it.'Adoption-net‘Heartbreaking.'Mirror‘A truly harrowing read that made me cry.’Sun'A true tale of hope. ****.'OK!‘Foster carers rarely get the praise they deserve, but Cathy Glass’s book should change all that.****’First magazine‘A hugely touching and emotional true tale.’Star magazine

Editorial Reviews

REVIEWS FOR DAMAGED:'Cannot fail to move those who read it.'Adoption-net‘Heartbreaking.'Mirror‘A truly harrowing read that made me cry.’Sun'A true tale of hope. ****.'OK!‘Foster carers rarely get the praise they deserve, but Cathy Glass’s book should change all that.****’First magazine‘A hugely touching and emotional true tale.’Star magazine

From the Publisher

Diaristic account of providing foster care to a woefully abused child. Glass, a prolific author of books on her experiences as a foster parent (A Baby's Cry, 2012, etc.), was initially reluctant to provide a foster home for a girl as severely abused as Aimee, who was "on the child protection register at birth." Although the author had experience with traumatized children who acted out toward the social workers and foster parents who stepped in, even she was shocked by Aimee's physical condition and behavior: ill-clothed, lice-ridden, addicted to sweets, rude and possessed of a sexual knowledge indicative of abuse. As Aimee began to adjust to the foster-care experience, Glass found the process more difficult due to the disturbances caused by Aimee's mother, Susan, a wretched drug addict who had clearly left Aimee vulnerable to unsavory men. Susan threatened Aimee and made up dramatic stories for the various social workers attempting to manage the case, though she also eventually gave a partial admission of her faults: "You know how to look after kids. I never did. I'm not a bad person, I just can't look after kids properly." Although Aimee's story has a happy ending, Glass ends with a reminder that Aimee is "one of millions of children worldwide who are not rescued when their parents fail." The author writes in a straightforward and journalistic rather than melodramatic fashion, which makes the grisly back story of the misdeeds committed against Aimee easier to bear. However, she chooses not to employ editorial compression, so readers witness what seems to be the complete daily progress of Glass' relationship with Aimee and her many drama-filled encounters with Susan. It is a monotonous approach to disturbing material. A straightforward, full documentation of the challenges encountered in providing care to society's most neglected children.

Kirkus Reviews